The Traits of a True Hero
by ebonynight-archangelus
Summary: A typical Sonic High School story. Miles Prower moves to a new school, hoping get the chance to start his life over. As the school year progresses, friendships are forged, lives are changed, and the junior class discovers that a hero isn't always super, and they come from not the strongest in skill, but the strongest in heart. Rated T for violence and bad language (to be safe).
1. Prologue

_When I was asked to write about my hero, it was hard to choose one. There isn't just one person in my life that I would consider a hero. My dad was a good soldier, who fought for his country and died doing so. I think that he is a good elective. Then there's my mother, who was always there for me when I felt alone and missed my dad. She's a hero, too. But there is one person who showed me that no matter what life you lead, there is always hope._

_He comes home every day, exhausted and feeling down, but he keeps a brave face. He makes sure to cover the bruises on his arms before he sees his parents. They are either sitting in the living room weakly waiting for him or in their rooms resting. They ask how his day is and he lies through his teeth saying that it was all right; for their sakes. His parents ask him what he wants for dinner, but he kindly declines saying that he would take care of it. At first they protest, but he manages to convince them that it was fine._

_What his parents don't realize is that he's in a lot of pain himself, both physical and emotional. He just wants to make the pain end, but loves his parents too much to leave them like that. Even when they would fight, he fought through his sorrow; for THEIR sakes. This person never asks for anything but wishes the best for everyone else. I never thought I'd see such hope in anyone before, and it makes my common teenage problems seem ridiculous._

_When I was with him last he said that he used to wish he was a superhero, so he better help others. What kid didn't? But now I realize that even though he didn't have superpowers, he was one of the greatest people I could ever know._

_This kid, one of the greatest children this world can offer, is my hero._

* * *

It's not a very good essay (yeah, it's supposed to be an essay), I'll say that much. Please bear with me as I try to perfect my story a little bit. It may be a while before I get the next chapter in.


	2. Rumor Has It

"Hey, guys!"

The group of friends turned to see the leader of their little team coming over the cluster of desks. They all greeted him warmly and one of them pulled out the chair next to them. He plopped down and, after dropping his bag on the ground, he leaned forward with an excited grin on his face.

"Did you hear? A new kid is coming to this school!"

"Yeah, I did," his closest friend answered. "Supposedly he's a big genius."

"Oh! I heard that, too!" one of the only girls chirped with a smile of awe. "It's rumored that he skipped two or three grades. I mean, that's _super_ smart!"

The leader looked a bit surprised. "Really? That's pretty sweet."

"Dude, I heard that the kid's dad is, you know, _the_ General."

They all stared at their quieter friend in shock. "No _way_," the leader breathed. "The one that fought alongside my dad?"

"Yes. But it makes me curious about what his personality would be like. From what I've learned, the army was not kind to the General when he was forced to retire."

A few desks away, a student listened to their conversation. He was completely silent, staring forward and chewing on the toothpick in his mouth as if uninterested, but his ears were twitched back so he could hear what they were saying.

"So, what do you think this kid will be like?" one of the other girls asked, looking specifically at their leader.

The boy's eyes were excited. "I think he's going to be a super cool, super-talented guy. Possibly the strong and silent type because his dad is, you know, _the_ General. I'm not sure he'd be crazy athletic, but he's got to be a _little_."

"You really are excited about this, aren't you?" his closest friend chuckled.

He nodded fervently. "Yeah. It's been a while since we've had a new kid. He may even become one of us." Then he pointed himself. "The office gave me the job of showing him around next Monday. I'll introduce him to you guys."

The quieter one looked down at the table. He seemed clearly troubled about something. One of the girls sitting next to him looked at him with concern. "You okay?"

"I don't think he's going to be like that at all."

His excited friend then looked at him curiously. "You don't? Why not?"

He tapped on the desk for a few seconds, contemplating. "He is extremely intelligent, but he will be very quiet and soft-spoken. Something tells me he has been bullied his entire life, so he will be very nervous around others when he moves here. He's probably extremely poor because the General had a permanent injury and was not given any retirement money or anything like that. The kid is extremely withdrawn and keeps his feelings out of sight from others. It's extremely difficult for him to make friends, or even take a compliment for that matter. I also feel that he works extremely hard but is not doing what he wants to. But, overall, I feel that he is an extremely optimistic person in bad situations, even though he himself is extremely depressed and wants everything to just end."

There was a small silence of surprise. The eavesdropper's eyebrows even raised in shock. "Wow," the leader kid breathed. "That's intense. How do you know all that?"

"It's just a hunch."

He didn't know just how right he was.

* * *

You're going to have to guess who's who because I'm not telling. ^^ This one's a bit short too, but I promise the next one will be longer.


	3. Starting Over

_Oh, God, I am so nervous._

That was the one thought running through my head as I stood in front of the looming school doors. It all seemed so… intimidating. One thing I noticed is that this school was even bigger than my last one. Which meant more people. Which meant more problems.

_Snap out of it, Miles! You can do this! After all, you came here for a fresh start. That's what you're gonna do._

I took a deep breath, which was unfortunately unhelpful, picked up my skateboard, and walked into the school. The first thing that greeted my sights was a woman standing near the doors with a patient, expectant look on her face. She saw me and a bright smile formed on her face.

"Hello!" she called out, walking over to me. Then she stuck out her hand. "You must be Miles Prower. My name is Principal Kaze. It's very nice to meet you."

At first, I cringed away from the hand out of reaction, which caused her to raise her eyebrow in confusion. I put my hand in hers and shook it warmly.

"H-hi. I-it's nice to meet you, too," I answered politely.

Suddenly she eyed the skateboard. "Your mode of transportation, I presume?" She must've caught my panicked look, because she added, "We keep skateboards and bikes in a locked storage room that only the staff has access to. Your student guide will take you there."

"Who is my student guide?"

The principle's smile became very mischievous, which kind of made me nervous. "Why, my son, of course. He should be here any minute." Her eyes gravitated toward her watch. "I'm terribly sorry, but I need to run. Stand here next to the doors and he should spot you very easily."

I nodded and she turned around and went on her merry way. That left me there by myself near the entrance. Students walked by, and most of them were eyeballing me and whispering to each other. _Great. That's just what I wanted_, I thought as I suppressed a groan. After a few more students started to stare at me, I shouldered my bag and started to walk away from the doors.

"AGH!"

I was knocked onto my butt, rubbing my head and groaning from the collision. Then, when I looked up, panic rose in my throat.

"Whoops! Sorry, kid!"

Suddenly, I was being pulled to my feet and I instantly tensed up under the touch. The kid in front of me, a blue hedgehog, seemed oblivious to my panic, because he was smiling kindly. My eyes quickly diverted to the floor, a small reflex I picked up back at my old school.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"…"

"Hello?" His voice was filled with innocent humor. "Is anyone there?"

I never looked up at him. My eyes remained glued to the floor, just waiting for him to get bored and walk away. It always worked.

Apparently it didn't this time, because a pair of green eyes appeared in my line of vision. "Jeez, am I ugly or something?"

I had no choice but to lift my eyes up, and he straightened himself with a triumphant grin. "That's better!" His emerald eyes flickered for a moment, and his brows furrowed. "Hey, I've never seen you around here before. You must be the new kid!" He held his hands out and smiled brightly. "Miles, right?"

For a few moments, I just stared at his hand. Then I hesitantly shook it, jerking it back as soon as he released it. "Y-yes. My name is Miles Nozomi-Prower."

"Well, hi there, Miles! My name is Sonic Kaze!" He pointed to himself as he spoke, donning a huge shit-eating grin. "I'm going to be your guide today! Maybe your friend later!"

That last part threw me off. But I numbly nodded to satisfy his need for an answer. He then whipped around and started to walk away. For a few seconds, I hesitated, but he turned his head and looked at me.

"Are you coming? Or are you going to stand by the doors all day?"

Shaking my head, I readjusted the skateboard under my arm and followed him.


	4. New Member of the Family

Sonic took me to the office, where they kindly stored my skateboard, and we were quickly on our way. He had my schedule, which we sat down and looked at. Coincidentally, I had a lot of the same classes as him.

"-and as for the others, I'll try my best to make sure someone helps you out."

I nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Sonic told me with a grin. "Anyway, we should probably get to class. Have you eaten anything?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

His grin became mischievous. "Weelll, being the principal's kid gives you certain… privileges, I guess. Not to mention I'm good friends with all the lunch ladies. They give me anything I ask for. Whatever you want, just name it."

"Um, I don't know…"

"How about some breakfast pizza? They've got some killer breakfast pizza."

I gave him a weak smile. I didn't want to impose on him, especially on the first day, but he seemed bent on making me feel welcome, and I had the feeling that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Sure."

What happened next really freaked me out. I blinked, and suddenly he was gone. I jerked my head left and right, wondering where he had gone. Feeling a bit concerned, I slowly got up.

"I'm back!"

I let out a loud cry as blue suddenly filled my vision and tried to step back, forgetting I was in a seat, and fell backward onto my back.

"Jeez, are you okay?!"

He came into my vision again with concerned green eyes and lifted me back up onto my seat. Then he let out a laugh. "Threw you off, didn't I?"

"W-what on Earth was _that_?!"

Sonic rubbed his nose. "Mom didn't tell you? I'm the fastest thing alive. Anyway, you should eat so we can get to class."

I blinked at him a few times. Then I looked down at the pizza in front of me. It looked delicious, so I quickly dug into it. I was finished within a minute, and I looked up to see Sonic grin.

"Great! Let's go! We're off to History!" With that, he grabbed my wrist, and even though he was gentle about it, I still yanked my arm away from him. That seemed to set him off, because he looked back at me with surprise, his ears perked straight up and his emerald eyes wide.

I instantly shrank back a little, cradling my arm to my chest. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"N-no, it's fine," he said with an uncomfortable laugh, "I probably shouldn't have just grabbed you like that."

I didn't answer him. Instead I asked, "Shouldn't we be getting to class?"

He stared at me for a few seconds with a frown on his face before muttering, "Yeah. We probably should." With that, he turned and slowly made his way down the hallway, and I briskly followed.

We ended up having to go all the way across the school to get to History. Sonic started to smile as we got closer to the classroom, and I could hear laughter coming from inside.

"Just so you know, kid," Sonic told me, "my uncle also works here, too. He's our History teacher."

"Does your whole family work here?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "In a way. My only family members left are my mom and my uncle, so I guess you could say that."

I felt really guilty then. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Nah, don't worry about it." He gave me a bright smile. "Let's just focus on the here and now, 'kay?"

A small smile graced my lips, and I gave him a nod. "Okay."

With that, we walked inside, and suddenly a paper ball smacked Sonic on the face. Suddenly, everyone froze, and I blinked a few times in surprise. My first sight of the classroom was everyone behind tables that were flipped on their sides, paper balls in hand, and chucking them at each other. Sitting cross-legged on the desk was a blue hedgehog that looked a lot like Sonic, but had a white mustache on his face. His blue eyes were warm and full of laughter.

"It's about time, boy! We're in the middle of Trench Wars here!"

"Sorry, Chuck! Just showing around the new kid!" He then clapped me on the back, and I did my best not to flinch.

The teacher grinned and jumped off of his desk, landing perfectly on his feet. When he walked over, he stuck out his hand and grabbed mine, shaking it fervently. "Nice to meet you, son! My name is Charles Kaze, and I will be your History teacher!"

"N-nice to meet you," I answered, returning the shake after the initial surprise.

"You've got a firm handshake! That's good!" His smile was huge and welcoming. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Miles Nozomi-Prower-"

"Ah, the General's kid!" He seemed to get excited, and I didn't know whether or not that concerned me. "How's the old boy doing?"

"Um, fine." Not exactly a _total_ lie. "He's doing great."

Mr. Kaze clapped me on the back. "That's good to hear." Then he turned to the class. "Everyone, meet Miles Nozomi-Prower. He's going to be part of our little family now."

I blinked. _Family?_

"I want you all to greet him warmly. Now, Miles, would you like to tell us a few things about yourself?"

_Ah, crap._

"Uh…" I started to twist my tie in my hands and looked at the other students, who still had paper balls in their hands. "I-I like fixing and building stuff, reading, art, and singing… um, I'm fourteen years old-"

"Fourteen?" piped up a kid in the back. He was a light gray hedgehog with a tuft of quills sticking up. One slipped in front of his face as he stared at me with surprise in his golden eyes. "You must be smart!"

I blushed furiously. "W-well, I wouldn't say that, but-"

"Forgive me for asking, but what's up with your tail?" another kid asked. He was an armadillo with a bright red shell and blue eyes.

My ears flicked back and I swallowed hard. Squeezing my eyes shut, I flicked my tail muscles.

"Wow!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"I don't believe it!"

What I neglected to mention was that I didn't have a tail. Well, I didn't have just one tail. I had two golden-colored tails. It's what makes me different, and for me, that was never a good thing.

All of a sudden, I heard a bunch of excited chatter. Slowly opening one of my eyes, I saw everyone start talking to each other, most with huge grins on their face, but a few others had sneers on their face. My heart plummeted into my stomach. Then I heard it.

"What a freak."

I looked up a little to see a bird, a hawk that was the same emerald as Sonic's eyes, staring at me with scorn in his eyes and a smirk on his beak.

"Jet Taka," Mr. Kaze warned, his blue eyes becoming steely with irritation. "That was uncalled for and unnecessary. Apologize."

"No. Why should I?"

My shoulders slumped and I let out a quiet sigh. _Why did I think anything would change?_

"You leave me no choice, then. Kids, remember what we do with bullies?"

Just then, honest to God, everyone turned with maniacal grins on their faces and pelted Jet with paper balls. He was practically buried in a pile of paper before it was over. Mr. Kaze leaned over and snickered in my ear, "Don't worry, we recycle all the paper."

I let out a laugh, but then clapped my hand over my mouth in surprise. Sonic looked at me in surprise. "Why'd you stop laughing?"

My hand slipped away from my mouth and I mumbled a quick, "Sorry."

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about," he said with a smile. "You should laugh more often! Trust me; you'll laugh a lot in this class." With that, he ushered me over to the teacher's seat and made me sit down. "Watch the show and learn some History, Kaze style!"

With that, the chaos ensued. One thing I noticed out of the corner of my eye was a pair of crimson eyes constantly glancing at me.

* * *

_Hey, I'm back with two new chapters! ^^ They're a bit longer now and I hope I can keep up with more chapters._

_I really felt that Uncle Chuck would make a great History teacher, and before anyone asks: yes, Trench Wars was a game I played in my US History class and it is SUPER fun if not a little chaotic!_

_R&R, please!_


	5. Little Secrets

History ended on a happy note, and I decided to stay behind and help clean up. Mr. Kaze seemed surprised and pleased at my actions, and Sonic told me as we left that I earned some brownie points for doing that.

"He really likes when students that," he explained. "It also helps that you told him you love history."

"I think that pleases every History teacher," I told him with a slight smile. In the back of my mind, I was slightly troubled. When class was over, I could tell that Jet was not happy with me. He glared at me when I started to pick up paper wads and if I hadn't have picked up a certain paper wad in time, he probably would've stomped on my hand.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

I snapped back into reality, suddenly aware of the deep frown on my face and the look of worry on Sonic's. The frown was quickly forced off of my face. "Nah, don't worry about it."

"Is it Jet?"

At that point, I had looked up at him in surprise. He had an understanding look on his face. "Yeah, I figured that was it. I don't know your position on language, but he's a goddamn douchebag. But you shouldn't worry about it. I've got your back, and so do most of the people here. Just know that, okay?"

I gave him a grateful smile and nodded. "Okay. Thank you." He smiled back, and looked like he was going to say something, but was cut off by another voice.

"So when were you going to introduce us to the new kid?"

I turned to see three people standing in front of us. One was a tall, muscular echidna with vermillion fur and violet eyes. The only girl was a light pink in color with pale green eyes, and she smiled brightly at them. On the farthest side was a purple reptile, a chameleon to be precise, with golden eyes that seemed to be reaching into my very soul. He was almost as tall as Knuckles, and still way taller than me. The chameleon seemed to be studying me for some reason.

"Hey, guys!" Sonic called out with a goofy grin. "I didn't see you there!" Then he turned to me and gestured towards the others. "These are some of my buds!" He pointed to the echidna and said, "This is Knuckles Toushi. He's one of the toughest guys in our little group. He's also in the Chaotix Club with Espio here." With that he pointed to the chameleon. "This is Espio Chishiki, the 'ninja' of the group. One of the cool things about Espio is that he's got this intuition thing that tells him the personalities of people he's either about to meet or has met but not interacted with."

The chameleon bowed respectfully, but when he looked back up, his look told me that that intuition thing of his has tipped him off; tipped him off about me. It almost made me panic, but then he discretely brushed his fingers over his lips like he was zipping his lips.

As Espio and I silently communicated, Sonic went right on to introduce the girl. "I would like you to meet Amy Chuugi-Rose, one of my good friends and my girlfriend. She's the junior class president and the leader of the pep club!" She waved at me fervently with a huge grin on her face and I shyly waved back.

"We should probably get to our next class," Espio cut in quietly. Hearing him talk really startled me, because his voice was very low and quiet, like he was trying to be secretive. Apparently that was how he always talked, because everyone regarded him quickly.

"You're right as always, Espio!" Sonic commented. Turning back to me, he said, "We definitely should get going. Unfortunately, we don't have the same class next period. I can take you to the art room and meet you at the cafeteria later. You do know where the cafeteria is, right?" When I nodded, he smiled. "Okay! Well, then let's boogie!"

Too soon after that, Sonic and I reached the art room and he left. I cautiously walked inside, where I was greeted by a black and white cat, who smiled brightly at me as I walked in. She walked over to me, and I felt a bit of a blush come on.

"Welcome! And who may you be?"

I shrank back as she got closer, involuntarily pinning my ears to my skull. "I-I, um, am M-Miles Nozomi-Prower."

She dipped her head in greeting. "Ah, yes! Hello, Miles. I am Miss Hershey. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"Uh, you, too." _Why won't this stupid blush go away?!_

"There is one free seat just over there." Miss Hershey pointed behind her and I looked to see an empty desk and easel. Next to it was one of the scariest people I've ever seen.

He was a tall, slightly muscular hedgehog that was glistening ebony in color with crimson stripes slashed on his spines, his arms, his legs and his tail. A tuft of white poked out of the collar of his shirt, and just above that was a tan muzzle with a small frown on it. The scariest part of him was his eyes. They had been the same eyes that had been watching me earlier.

"The student next to your desk will be your partner for the rest of the year," she said. Then she called out, "Mr. Himitsu, would you come here, please?"

The hedgehog's head snapped up and he looked at us expressionlessly. Then he calmly set down his things and walked over. When he reached us, he practically towered over me, sending my heart into my throat.

"Miles, this is Shadow Himitsu. Shadow, this is Miles Nozomi-Prower. Could you please help him if he needs it?"

Shadow glanced at me, and I thought I was going to faint. His eyes were impassive, but he still terrified me. Then he turned back to Miss Hershey and nodded.

"Thank you, dear." With that, she walked away, and I was left with Shadow.

Who turned around and briskly walked back to his desk. I hesitantly followed, shifting my bag on my shoulders uncomfortably. When I set my bag down, I was greeted with a box full of art supplies. Looking up, I saw Shadow silently staring at me.

"T-thank you," I told him quietly. His response was a dip of his head before he went back to work on his project. I looked at the desk in front of me for a few seconds, wondering what I should do.

"Fear."

I jerked my head so quickly at the startling voice that I felt my neck crack. The midnight colored hedgehog was looking at me, obviously waiting for the inevitable question.

"What?"

Emotionlessly, he turned back to his canvas and stared at it. "There is a contest coming up this October for Halloween and Miss Hershey has asked us to make an art based off of fear. That is what we are doing right now. You can use any medium you like."

After a few seconds of silence, I squeaked out, "Oh. Thank you."

He dipped his head in my direction again before continuing with his work. I turned and stared at the desk for a few seconds before getting to work myself. After a few more moments of staring, I managed to think of something to do.

It didn't seem like long before class was over. When I bent down to grab my bag, I noticed something flutter to the floor. I picked it up, noticing that it was a slip of sketchbook paper. Words were scribbled in elegant, artistic writing. It was poetry.

_Life is but a single thread_

_In the intricate web of the Fates_

_Destinies intertwined and tragic endings_

_Their scissors lead to Heaven's gates_

_Many souls have had their threads cut_

_Before they could even try to live_

_Many have left this desolate world_

_Stained by things that They can't forgive_

_Turning back time cannot be done_

_Redemption is a faraway dream_

_But there is always a slim chance_

_To make these bloodstained hands clean_

_And so today and then forever_

_To myself and more I will be true_

_I can try to be someone's hero_

_And settle my debts that will soon be due_

I read it twice before looking up. Shadow was long gone. So, I carefully put it in one of my folders and slipped it in my bag so I could give it to him when I saw him next. As I left the room, all I could think was, _Just who is this guy?_

* * *

_Yeah, I wrote that poem myself. It kinda sucks, but I was working in a short amount of time and I WANTED IT DONE!_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy! R&R, please! ^^_


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